Monday, November 2, 2009

Walking in Parking Lots

Some of the most interesting conversations Abigail and I have are when we are walking through parking lots. The vast empty space seems to allow her to think and explore all the ideas in her head.

It started nearly two years ago when she discovered her shadow. It was fun to explore how her shadow changed as she walked and how it was different when we were entering the parking lot as we were leaving.

Next came reflections. She looked at a car one day and wanted to know why her shadow was in color. This brought on a new round of conversations. We talked about how shadows and reflectiosn were different, how they were the same. What it meant. Did different cars make different reflections, after a summer rain we looked at our reflections in water. More time to talk, more time to be.

Lately the conversations are changing again. We still talk about shadows and reflections but she now has a new interest; perspective. We talk about how far away an object is. That size can change depending on how close we are to the object Ab likes to guess at how big an object will be when we get close to it. We talk about the angle we are looking at and how that may change the way things look.

I love these simple times with her. She is growing up so fast. I know some day our abstract conversations will be replaced by topics that are more concrete, more factual, more commerical. So I treasure this time as we enjoy a momment of peace in our hectic life.